shovel? Maybe it’s a little heavy. We want to go to the seaside to have a camp. Maybe we don’t need to take it.
Chairs.
This is good for my sensitive skin. Antihistamines for bee sting, scorpion stung or plant allergies
I’d suggest keeping the shovel, especially at the beach. If weight is a problem try an e-tool or similar folding shovel.
Evidently you are going to travel in an auto. That sure does make it easier to carry all the gear recommended. For a first timer or one not experienced at back packing that is an excellent way to start. As time goes on think of the things that you have that are not really necessary, and you can pare your equipment down a lot I suspect.
When I hunted sheep in Alaska in the month of Aug (I was stationed there from 1960-1964) I did not even carry a tent, but just a plastic tarp to pull over me if it rained. I also did not carry a coat, but layered a couple of items to get the required protection. I never had a flashlight, but there was plenty of daylight. Learn to pack light and your gear also not heavy.
A good knife is a must, and a light weight steel or something to touch up the edge.
Have fun and learn from each trip.
Jerry
For me, a tent is a must. i’ll lack sense of safety if camping without tent. Too heavy things with us would be a burden for us, so i won’t carry things too much and too heavy.
When camping with the family I agree that a tent is a must.
Jerry
I like to car camp with my 6 year old son or my wife when it’s just going to be 2 of us. I have a 2007 Element, and once you lay the seats down and use a bunch of blankets to cushion and flatten the sleeping area it really is like sleeping in a bed. Weather becomes a non-issue, as does the nighttime temperature to some extent. I have trouble sleeping if I’m too hot and my wife is a fainter in high heat, all I have to do is set a fan in the dashboard and run the AC for about 5 minutes every 2-3 hours. (I usually wake up every 2-3 hours at night) In the winter it’s not too bad, warmer than a tent, so we bundle up with blankets or sleeping bags and we sleep well.
I’ve always tent camped before having a family, but I am finding that my back likes roughing it less than it used to. Air mattresses work for me, but combined with a tent, and pump it’s just three more things to pack, and then clean when you get home.
I have 2 totes and a kitchen set in a zippered bag that expands into a small table that are always ready to be thrown in the car to head out. I’ve found that a dedicated set of camping stuff that is easy to keep track of and store is the best way to not forget something. Besides those 3 things we just need to pack food, clothes, and the knives and flashlights I want to bring.
definatly take showel, not a big garden showel, but a small one, either army folding showel, that is sold all over web for like 20 or so, i have cold steel spetcnaz showel, awesome tool, love it, i moslty use it to get coals from fire in the grill for bbq.
i would recomend propane heater for your tent, they go for like 70bucks, do not get one that has open flames, you want onle like this. http://www.thehulltruth.com/attachments/mid-atlantic-chesapeake-bay/479200d1417056396-judge-27-chesapeake-way-coleman-blackcat-tent-heater-sale-3.jpg
while it is easy to deal with cold weather by wearing warm stuff it is next to impossible to deal with moisture inside the tent, and you do not want the moistuire, or everything you have in the tent will be damp, moisture always occurs when temp drops, and once your hot from daylong on the sun tent get cooler in the evening, your tent walls become wet, and inside becomes damp, the trick is not to let temp drop inside, so everytime i go camping, i turn on the heater when it starts to get cold, it keeps temp inside the tent up, and keep moisure from developing inside, depending on the size of the tent, you use either high or low setting for the heater.
get bug spray, and inspect each other body for ticks, do not worry much about lime disease or other nasty things ticks can give you, they need at least 24hours to feed on you to infect you, so if you catch one that did not have a chance to be on you for that long, you wont get infected.
At least the region is important. Mountains, beach, river? I advise against beach or dunes for the first excursion. The learning curve is unkind and can sour ones taste toward future trips.
And camping how?
At a campground, drive-in and park, one that offers tent sites, and toilets, and running water, and trash collection, and fire pits or charcoal grills or a place for a propane stove?
At a backcountry site where you walk in a few miles carrying your gear, with a reservation so you know where you’ll set up everything?
In the woods, hiking somewhere until you decide to camp for the night, and walking further the next day?
This is why I suggested Colin Fletcher’s book (link above) — to suggest you say what you’re going to do.
And what’s the biggest animal around where you’re going?
In places like Yosemite National Park in California, the bears have learned exactly how to break into cars
and so food is stored in bearproof containers.
And you never wipe your hands on your clothes after eating, you wash carefully — so there’s no smell of food inside your tent to attract bears.
(and no food at all, ever)
In other places the biggest animal besides yourself is a mouse. And you take similar precautions about attracting their attention.
i remember camping in nys, we rented entire island, every site has concrete slab and heavy guage mettal box bolted to it, to store your food, about 100 yards away from site. even island sites have those. while i definatly agree about watching for bears\racoons\opposums, and other wildlife, but after decades of camping, i realized the worst animals are actually insects, never go camping upstate adironduct, under canadian border, before mid of july or begining of august, it is black fly season, they will eat you alive. nasty things, yet they are so tiny you barely see them
Maybe seaside, :bigsmile: to have BBQ
I don’t recall a mention of whistles for parents and for each child. Also a small light to signal if lost in the dark.
Jerry
Always some sort of BBQ or cooking over a wood fire. The seaside or camping in sand is a real challenge. The sand gets everywhere and into everything. A good supply of water to wash off the sand. Something to block the wind and a vestibule or anteroom to take off shoes, knock of sand before getting into tent and bedding. A place to prepare the food away from wind and driven sand is really good. A shovel to dig holes in sand and bury good size pieces of branches or pieces of wood as buried anchors to secure tent against the wind.
+1 bring chairs.
regarding tents divde by 2 for acceptable. divide by 3 for comfortable. better more small tents then to wrestle with a giant tent. depending on how many are going.
I like a 3 man tent for my self or if I have a “close” friend.
the kids might like their own tent?
Especially for their first couple of camping trips when you are trying to hook them, I think that a tent for the kids is all important.
I think that the kids feel much safer when they can zip up their own cheap little tent, and that the security and privacy of them inside their own tent, while the parent’s tent is 10 or 20 feet away, is one of the major pleasantries for the kids.
I can’t agree with you more
It’s the frist time to know about bringing whistles. Anyway it’s good.
Mini Portable light is essential in the dark night. I have several nitecore mini lights now.
Thank you for your advice